in thinking that the Good Housekeeping lot are so bloody ORGANISED?

[jeremyspants]

I weep with despair. The last while I have followed the bloody Fly lady (despite seeing her as the female version of Jeff Goldbloom)
yet my house looks like someone threw a grenade in every room.
How do people do it?
I have folded, hoovered, tidied, decluttered, scrubbed yet it looks worse. There is a Very Important lady coming tomorrow and there is not a single room in the house that looks good and now I am knackered.It is not even a case of a quick tidy up of the living room more like have a job GETTING to the living room.
Dh has been less than helpful...he pushed the start button on the dishwasher and thought he had done it all.
I want to run away

Don't worry,you seem to be daunted by what you have to do. Just take it steady.

OK, so this woman is comming. Which rooms will she be in? Give them a superficial tidy. Don't try to do everything. A quick vac round makes things look better.

And if she can't take you as she finds you then monkies to her

Now go give the sink a clean

The sinks are all shiny as are the bathrooms, Grouchyscar. The reason she is coming is to see if I am coping, being a double carer with new baby. (Maybe we could do the interview in the bathroom)
My family are so untidy but don't seem to bother about the mess. No, not mess. Uber mess.
I did 14 massive baskets of ironing a while ago and no one bothered to pick their stuff up. It lay for three months so I threw the whole lot out.

Can you tell her you are finding things hard?

I think the FLY lady people are very organised and their houses are probably in an ok state so their cleaning rotas work well.

If your house is more severely messy I would recommend starting to clear one room only. Start with the lounge or kitchen. If a VIP is coming take emergency action. Make sure the chairs are clear, so she can sit down and that you have clean cups in the kitchen so you can make a cuppa.

Hide clutter/mess in a spare room or wardrobe. Just shove it out of the way so it looks ok when she is there. Bribe husband/children to help.

Good luck.

Yes, I'm going to have to. We are sort of packing up to leave this house in a few months but I am never finding the time to get things done properly. I got dumped with all my dad's stuff too so there is a lot to sort through.
The irony is that I like cleaning and seeing things clean and orderly but my family are not bothered.
My dd cant help it but she has completely wrecked three rooms that I had sorted out. All the bin bags of stuff got tipped out before I could get them shifted. I just lay in a heap when I saw what had happened.
All the good stuff is mixed in with the 'go out' stuff.

Sounds like a nightmare and a lot of trips to the charity shops to come. Don't think about that now. Just get superficial and hide stuff under the sofa. This important lady will have been in worse houses and hopefully will understand what it is like to have kids. You can always tell her what happened with your dads stuff.

The kitchen is clean, just really cluttered up.
I mopped the floor, did the worksurfaces and washed all the dishes but when I look, it does not seem as if it has been done at all.
Have decided that dh can damn well do at least 3/4 of it when he gets back. (sent for milk- 25 miles to shop)
The rest can go in the green crates that Tesco deliver your shop but never take back.

I fly and my house is a disaster but it would be worse if I didn't.
If you have very little time hide things, shove all the rubbish from downstairs in the laundry basket, take it upstairs and stuff it in the wardrobe, shove other stuff in the boot of the car. Then have a quick dust and vac, don't do it perfectly just do it fast. Honestly it will make things look better and if your kitchen and bathrooms are already clean then you are well on your way.
Good luck

Don't waste any time and energy thinking about Fly people being organised - we wouldn't have joined that thread if we didn't need help. I described myself as feeling like a hamster on a wheel when I started.

But 14 baskets of ironing? So much stuff you can't move? No wonder you can't get anywhere. If your family won't help then you have to get brutal and really minimise the amount of stuff they have out. Tell DH how in despair you are - men have no idea how this stuff gets to us.

Do what you can to have a couple of presentable rooms tomorrow. Look OK yourself and have stuff to make tea. You can fool people by seeming bright and upbeat if that's what you want to do - unless this woman is in a position to offer you any valuable help??

After that, break it all down into a manageable daily routine. I do one job each day eg shopping/hoovering/laundry and no longer spend my time thinking 'it's just never finished'. Housework IS neverending, so you have to impose structure on it.

I have NEVER in my life even SEEN 14 baskets of ironing, let alone done them. You really do not need to iron everything.

Janni, I love ironing, honestly. I just never get the chance to go and iron (we do not get TV here so it passed an evening)(well, ok, several)
In the spare time i do get, I have been ruthless bagging all the stuff but sadly not quick enough to dispose of it.
This house is rented but massive. 12 rooms. 13 including the hall. Think of the Addams family house-unheated in 10 rooms and full of clutter.

Dh back now and has been given a list that MUST be done and the kitchen is heated and sort of presentable but with a few hours work it will be lovely.
Why can't they keep it like that?

13 rooms? Jeremy, no wonder you feel like Cinderella.

Best of luck